The conference report to this vital Defense Authorization bill for Fiscal Year 2010 takes important steps to enhance our military readiness, our national security, and the well-being of our military families and federal employees.

This month is National Disability Employment Awareness Month. We honor the contributions of the 54 million Americans with disabilities, and we pledge ourselves to removing all of the roadblocks to their full and equal participation in the workplace.

Today’s report on September job losses is disappointing news. Though economists largely agree that the recession that began in December 2007 has ended, that brings little comfort to Americans who are still out of work.

On Thursday, Christina Romer, Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers delivered a speech on the state of the economy, crediting “the Federal Reserve and the U.S. government for taking actions that…prevented the economy from going ‘over the edge as it did in the 1930s.’”

Over the last six decades, the rising costs of health care and the increasing number of uninsured Americans have been discussed in every presidential campaign and by nearly every Administration and Congress – whether Democratic or Republican.

Today, the Government Accountability Office, the federal government’s top watchdog, released a report on the progress made by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in fighting the recession across America.

Under the Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the pace of job loss has declined dramatically in recent months. However, because the recession was so deep, it will take more time to completely reverse the more than 6.9 million jobs lost since the beginning of the recession in 2007.

After passing major legislation this year dealing with such critical challenges as economic recovery and making college more affordable, House Members will continue to work on important issues in Committee, on the Floor, and in their districts this Fall.

Today the House passed the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act, legislation that accomplishes two key goals: expanding opportunities for higher education, and putting our country on sounder fiscal footing.

This afternoon, I was pleased to join President Obama as he made the case for health insurance reform to an audience of students in my congressional district, at the University of Maryland in College Park.